We all may even be feeding this identity-monster via our efforts to construct and promote online versions of ourselves, Instagramming and Pinning our way toward a self-image we hope to project to the world.

But who are we . . . really? Beyond snap judgments, social-media profiles, and pasted-on labels, what’s at the core of who you really are—and why does it matter? In this issue of Today’s Christian Woman, we’re delving in to several key areas of identity and
examining what it means to find and embrace the woman God has designed us each to be.

You’re more than a dating profile.The problem of equating identity with a social-media profile is exponentially magnified in the world of online dating where your date-ability is measured in an instant by potential suitors. In “Online Dating Isn’t for Me,” Ashly Stage explains why she “hated nearly every minute of online dating.” For Ashly, stepping away from the world of online dating profiles has helped her know and embrace her true self. If you’re single, whether you love online dating or hate it, how will you center yourself in Christ and be the real you?

Your cultural background matters—to you and to the church.In our world still battling prejudice and ethnic tension, is the answer to be “colorblind” and seek to ignore race and culture? In “Racial Identity and the Church,” Austin Channing Brown investigates what it can look like for churches to acknowledge and celebrate cultural and ethnic differences rather than seeking to transcend them. “By digging into our racial identities,” she asserts, “we give ourselves the greatest chance for affirming our place in the imago dei.”